


Clamor

by thorinoakenbutt



Series: FFXIVWrite2020 prompts [8]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers, Holminster Switch, M/M, Miqo'te Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Named Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), rated m just cause my catboy has some serious UST over the Exarch's lips lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:41:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26552278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thorinoakenbutt/pseuds/thorinoakenbutt
Summary: Definition of clamor1: noisy shouting2: a loud continuous noise3: insistent public expression (as of support or protest)
Relationships: Alisaie Leveilleur & Warrior of Light, G'raha Tia | Crystal Exarch/Warrior of Light
Series: FFXIVWrite2020 prompts [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1918291
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	Clamor

**Author's Note:**

> When I woke up this morning and looked at the prompt for day 8, all that came to mind was:
> 
> _Louder than sirens_   
>  _Louder than bells_   
>  _Sweeter than heaven_   
>  _And hotter than hell_
> 
> So this one is in large part thanks to Florence & the Machine!

E’andhris always felt energized after a good fight. His muscles ached, his pulse pounded in his ears, and he felt _alive_ in ways he rarely felt otherwise. Zenos was right about him to some degree, a fact that shamed him and thrilled him in equal measure. He lived for the thrill of it all, deep down. 

He had been deemed soft while growing up - by his father, by his sisters, and the rest of his tribe. He supposed it was true. He _had_ been weak compared to the rest of them, balking at the thought of taking the lives of even the fish they’d chosen to train him to catch when it became apparent that he’d never amount to much as a hunter. He didn’t know when that had changed, when he’d grown to love the rush of fighting, overcoming overwhelming odds to come out on top.

In Novrandt, it had proven no different. Part of him felt disgusted with himself, growing as excited as he did while running through the burning remains of the village of Holminster Switch alongside the Crystal Exarch, the Leveilleur twins, and the captain of the Crystarium guard - Lyna. Yet his blood still sang as he wove between sin eaters, pulling upon his aether to cast spell after spell. The Exarch remained close to his side, his arcane-wrought blade and shield ever at the ready to intercept any who dared attack the Warrior of Light. 

They made an incredible team, a fact that E’andhris made sure to speak aloud between fights. The Exarch simply responded with a cryptic smile that twisted full lips, but showed no teeth. The man he knew the Exarch to be would have responded to such praise with a grin, once - bright and open in his delight. Though E’andhris too was forever changed through the many trials he’d endured in the years between their last meeting and the present. He was sure it was the same for _him_ after a hundred years of suffering in this gods forsaken Shard. 

It didn’t stop him from tapping the back of the Exarch’s thigh with the end of his staff, his adrenaline turning him bold and playful, overly familiar. _That_ got a reaction out of the hooded man. He turned sharply to give E’andhris a stunned look, those tempting lips turned down at the corners in a bewildered frown. The Warrior favored him with a toothy smile even as he heard Lyna’s harsh sound of disapproval and a strained sound from Alisaie from just behind them. Before the Exarch could respond with either reprisal or reproach, E’andhris surged forward into the next fight with a wild laugh. 

\-----------------

The fall of the first Lightwarden signaled the end of the fighting. The skies quite literally parted, plunging the world into darkness as it exposed a sea of stars overhead. The remaining sin eaters in the vincinity fled with the death of their leader, and with the absorption of the Light, E’andhris’ bloodlust fled in kind. 

Alisaie ran to his side and threw her arms around his waist as tightly as she could. “Thank the Twelve you’re alright,” she gasped, burying her face in his chest for the briefest of moments. His arms reflexively closed around her, giving a reassuring squeeze. “After Tesleen, I don’t know what I’d have done if you’d...”

“I’m alright, Alisaie, as always,” he soothed, giving her hair a ruffle that made her groan in displeasure. She pulled away to smooth it back down, but shooting him a look of pure _relief_. E’andhris barked a laugh and turned his gaze to the heavens to bask in the blessed darkness after so long under the scorching Light. He heard Alphinaud and Lyna speaking together, though he paid little attention to the others until he noticed the Exarch approaching him.

His ears lifted and his tail lifted in greeting, though the smile on his face froze when the Exarch dropped down to his knees before him. A sharp spike of heat speared itself though his abdomen at the sight. _Fuck_. “How many years have I waited for this moment,” the hooded figure intoned solemnly, his voice thick with emotion. “For the one possessed of Her blessing. For _you_.” His head lifted at last, looking in open reverence up at E’andhris. He swallowed hard, trying to push away thoughts of the Exarch on his knees in an entirely different scenario. 

He strained to hear the rest of the lord of the Crystarium’s words through the blood rushing to his ears - and further down - as the Exarch waxed poetic about returning the mantle of night after a hundred years of Light searing the world, obliterating life slowly but surely from Norvrandt, and the need to rid the rest of the realm from the Lightwardens. In the end, E’andhris can only say, “I will become the Warrior you need.” But then he’d never been able to deny _him_ anything.


End file.
